The Case for Jewish Charter Schools

Aug. 20 2024

An Oklahoma court recently ruled against an attempt to create a Catholic charter school, in a case that might eventually find its way to the federal Supreme Court and set important national precedent. But Tal Fortgang argues that Jews should nonetheless focus on creating such educational institutions of their own:

Jewish charter schools (JCSs)—publicly funded but independently operated K–12 schools teaching Jewish and secular subjects—would address many of the American Jewish community’s most vexing problems. JCSs avoid the “tuition crisis” that has put Jewish day schools out of reach for middle-class Jews and forced schools to rely on massive donations. They provide an alternative to public schools where Jews have traditionally thrived but feel increasingly unwelcome because of the rise of DEI programming and concurrent anti-Israel orthodoxy. And JCSs in fledgling communities would have the salutary effect of allowing Jews to start branching out geographically, easing the pressure to live in expensive neighborhoods.

Such a project, Fortgang argues, would also entail Jews changing their attitudes to the Constitution itself, and the debate over whether it should primarily function to separate completely between political and religious institutions, or to encourage the flourishing of a variety of religious institutions. Until now, American Jews have overwhelmingly taken the former view, while Fortgang believes they should endorse the latter.

[O]ne thing separationism did not do is what American Jews . . . had counted on it to do: foster pluralistic coexistence. We should stop expecting it to do that or hoping that, suddenly, it will. Separationism is not pluralism. It is closer to the opposite, because it wrongly suggests that we address the problem of coexistence by leveling down—that is, trying to achieve equality by excluding certain forms of argumentation, specifically pushing faith-based ideas out of the public square. We should instead commit to leveling up, encouraging all voices to speak up, thereby allowing Americans to persuade and be persuaded.

Read more at Sapir

More about: American Jewry, Hebrew charter schools, Jewish education, U.S. Constitution

After Taking Steps toward Reconciliation, Turkey Has Again Turned on Israel

“The Israeli government, blinded by Zionist delusions, seizes not only the UN Security Council but all structures whose mission is to protect peace, human rights, freedom of the press, and democracy,” declared the Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan in a speech on Wednesday. Such over-the-top anti-Israel rhetoric has become par for the course from the Turkish head of state since Hamas’s attack on Israel last year, after which relations between Jerusalem and Ankara have been in what Hay Eytan Cohen Yanarocak describes as “free fall.”

While Erdogan has always treated Israel with a measure of hostility, the past few years had seen steps to reconciliation. Yanarocak explains this sharp change of direction, which is about much more than the situation in Gaza:

The losses at the March 31, 2024 Turkish municipal elections were an unbearable blow for Erdoğan. . . . In retrospect it appears that Erdoğan’s previous willingness to continue trade relations with Israel pushed some of his once-loyal supporters toward other Islamist political parties, such as the New Welfare Party. To counter this trend, Erdoğan halted trade relations, aiming to neutralize one of the key political tools available to his Islamist rivals.

Unsurprisingly, this decision had a negative impact on Turkish [companies] engaged in trade with Israel. To maintain their long-standing trade relationships, these companies found alternative ways to conduct business through intermediary Mediterranean ports.

The government in Ankara also appears to be concerned about the changing balance of power in the region. The weakening of Iran and Hizballah could create an unfavorable situation for the Assad regime in Syria, [empowering Turkish separatists there]. While Ankara is not fond of the mullahs, its core concern remains Iran’s territorial integrity. From Turkey’s perspective, the disintegration of Iran could set a dangerous precedent for secessionists within its own borders.

Read more at Jerusalem Institute for Strategy and Security

More about: Iran, Israel diplomacy, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkey